Icy Jupiter Moon Europa A new study suggests there is an astrobiological beacon, which literally glows from the sun into the deepest darkness.
Jupiter’s intense radiation atmosphere potentially illuminates Europa’s icy shell, which is a huge, Potential livable sea Researchers have found that saltwater is a liquid water.
“If Europa weren’t under this radiation, our moon would look the way it does to us – darker than the shadows,” said Murthy Gudipati, lead author of the study and a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. Said in a statement. “But because it is bombarded by Jupiter’s radiation, it glows in the dark.”
Photos: Europa, Jupiter’s mysterious icy moon
Gudipati and his team studied how the organic molecules in Europe’s ice shell could be trapped by charged particles trapped in the planet’s powerful magnetic field and zooming around Jupiter at tremendous speeds.
Researchers created an instrument called the Ice Chamber to test Europa’s high-energy electrons and radiation environment, which they took to the electron-beam facility in Maryland. They tested the effects of radiation on sodium chloride and magnesium sulfate on simulated Europa surfaces made of water ice and on various suspected salts present there.
The samples glowed due to radiation. This was not a terrible surprise, the researchers said. The phenomenon is well understood: fast moving particles penetrated the sample, producing excitatory molecules in the nearby petals and producing a glow.
JPL co-author Brianna Henderson also said in the same statement, “But we never imagined we would see what we saw.” “When we tried the new ice formations, this glow looked different. And we all looked at it for a while and then said, ‘This is new, right? Is this definitely a different glow?’ So we showed a spectrometer on it, and each type of ice spectrum was different. “
This night’s glow – it won’t show up on Europe’s sun-lit days – has only G-Whistle appeal. Its color and intensity could reveal key details about the formation of the moon’s icy shell, study team members said.
As water from Europe’s buried seas reaches places on the moon’s surface, Gurupati said, “how this formation changes can give us an indication of whether the conditions are right for life in Europe.”
Color variations range from green to blue and white depending on the texture of the surface, team members said.
Scientists may be able to observe glare more closely than thanks to NASA Europa Clipper CheckStarting in the mid-2020s. The clipper will orbit Jupiter but will test Europa on dozens of flybys, collecting data that will help researchers assess the lunar habitat and plan life-hunting. Europa Lender Mission. (Lander has been mandated by Congress, but it’s a concept at the moment, not as a full-fledged NASA mission. It will begin after Clipper does.)
The Clipper team is monitoring the results of the new study, which was published online in the journal Monday (November 9). Nature astronomy, To determine whether Europe’s glow can be detected by spacecraft equipment, NASA officials said in the same statement.
“It doesn’t often happen that you’re in the lab and say, ‘We can get this when we get there,'” Gudipati said. “Usually it’s around the other way – you go there and find something and try to explain it in the lab. But our prediction goes back to a simple observation, and that’s about science. “
Mike is the author of “Wall L”Out there“(Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Carl Tate), a book about the quest for alien life. Follow him on Twitter ઇકMikeHeldVall. Follow us on Twitter @speedotcom or Facebook.
